Spain will announce a series of economic agreements with China in an attempt to shore up the country's beleaguered finances.

With 4 million unemployed and borrowing costs near eurozone highs, Spain will welcome the multimillion pound Chinese investment, which is likely to include olive oil, ham and wine exports to the world's second-largest economy.

Spain has been under pressure from international investors, who have been selling sovereign bonds of high-deficit countries on fears that debts will not be repaid. The sell-off has already pushed Greece and Ireland into bailouts by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, and has created high uncertainty around a potential rescue for Portugal and Spain. Both countries have denied they need any help to meet their debt payments.

"Europe's peripheral nations desperately need to find buyers for their debt to help push down the cost of their borrowings, so China's desire to diversify its reserves out of dollar-denominated assets could help to save the eurozone," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at Forex.com.

The agreements, to be signed by prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and China's vice-president Li Keqiang , will most likely involve public support for Spanish bonds. China already holds 13% of Spain's debt.

Zhu Bangzao, China's ambassador to Madrid, told El País newspaper that his country planned to continue buying Spanish debt. "During these times of crisis, China feels it is a requirement to support Spain and the EU to work together to end the crisis," Bangzao said. "We are not coming empty handed."

China wants to diversify the investment of its more than $2.6tn (£1.6tn) of foreign reserves, now mostly allocated in the US treasury market.

The agreements with Spain may include deals in key areas such as banking, tourism and energy. The delegation has already met with several Spanish officials, including finance minister Elena Salgado, to finalise details. The meetings are part of a European tour by Chinese officials, who will also travel to Britain and Germany.

It is not the first time China has moved to help out struggling European nations. Following Greece's bailout in May, China announced multibillion euro accords with the country, involving shipping, tourism and telecommunications. The agreements included the commitment of Cosco, one of the world's largest container terminal operators, to extend its reach with the construction of up to 15 dry bulk carriers in Greece. The company took over cargo management at Pireaus, the eastern Mediterranean's premier dockyard, on a 35-year concession. BCEGI, a Chinese construction company, also signed an accord to develop a hotel and shopping mall complex in Pireaus. Other deals include the exchange of know-how between China's Huawei Technologies and the Greek telecoms organization OTE and four agreements signed by food firms to export olive oil to China.